County vs. Pompey

Notts County V Pompey

Pompey travel to the County Ground on the back of two really poor home defeats.We just lack that extra edge at the moment and our best hope is that the Appy can get these boys going. It's that midfield dynamo we're lacking at the moment- The Diarra's, Muntari's, Mendes', we lack a game changer. However our best hope of a midfield sparkle probably lies with a retired 54 year old that played football once at the age of 7. Although Pompey's form seems to pick up quality away from home at this point, it seems that travelling to County is maybe a test to far as they are in fine form, sitting third in the table. Lets just hope Michalik and Gyepes are up to the attacking test today and that McLeod can find abit of gold.... and goals. The boys in Blue need their A-game today so Howard must get these boys Pumping! PUP!

Vital Quotes:

Appy has come out in the papers today claiming Pompey can get going now after their 'pre-season' has only just finished. Obviously this is to do with the fact that Pompey have been very floppy recently and lack that winners momentum. This is a clever word choice from the man who looks like 'He who must not be named' and hopefully this will motivate our far from perfect side. Hopefully this isn't just another excuse from Appy and he really means business as he is a fans favourite manager but we all know what happens when results keep appearing on the negative side...

County Team News:

Main news coming out of the County Ground is that of Andre Boucaud, who is out of the Notts squad after being sent off against Oldham and failing to win the appeal proposed. Also, Alan Sheehan may make a return to the Magpies squad after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Player to watch: Yoann Arquin

Arquin is definately the danger man in this County team at the moment- The French forward may have only scored once so far this season, but has three assists to his name and a large shot tally currently. He is a man who who seems to run County at the moment after signing a 12 month contract from Hereford in July so he is a lad who Pompey need to pick up and isolate immediately if they are to keep the 6'2 man at bay.

Pompey Team News:

Kevin Long is still struggling with a back problem at the moment meaning it will probably be an unchanged line-up for the Blues as debutant scorer Lubimor Michalik can stay at the heart of defence along side Gabor Gyepes. Alex Grant and Ashley Westwood are still out through injury and are also still to make an appearence for Pompey.

Player to watch: Andersen

Andersen is in sensational form as of late and really has saved Pompey a lot of goals. He again impressed in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to Swindon, making save after save during a very testng first half period. He has made 8 appearences after joing on loan from Reading at the beginning of the season and continues to prove why he is a player to look for in the future. Fingers crossed the Danish man can make all 6'5 of him a big frame guarding the Pompey goal throughout the season.

Match Facts & Stats

Pompey and County have had a fairly even distribution of points in the 21 times they've met. With Pompey claiming 7 wins, Notts claiming 8 and 6 shared points each. Odds are on The Magpies today so it shows we are the underdogs but hopefully this spurs our lads on for a desperately needed 3 points. The last time these two teams met was at the County ground in '94 where Pompey snatched a 0-1 victory through Paul Wood under the management of Jim Smith.

Ref Watch:

Gaz Coombes- hopefully he is an 'Alright' bloke.

Next Fixtures:

Pompey play Scunthorpe at Fratton next Saturday, hopefully full of confidence from their 2-1 victory today away aginst Notts County. WIN OR LOSE, UP THE BLUES!

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